Chris Dick, CEO, Registry Trust
Tuesday, 9th September 2025
Registry Trust has submitted evidence to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s consultation on the private parking code of practice which closed on 5 September. Our role as the non-profit operator of the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines gives us a unique perspective on how parking fines are represented in the court system and what that means for consumers.
Why this matters
The Register is a vital piece of the UK’s financial infrastructure. It records every County Court Judgment (CCJ) and equivalent across the UK and Ireland, supporting more than 200 million lending decisions each year. Access to the Register is open to all through Trust Online, helping individuals, businesses and lenders make informed choices.
What the data shows
Our latest analysis highlights a striking pattern: a clustering of unsatisfied consumer judgments at relatively low values.
- Over 40,000 unsatisfied judgments are recorded at £277.
- A further 31,768 judgments at £285, and 31,025 at £284.
- The top 20 judgment values all fall between £185 and £298.
This strongly suggests that a large share of judgments relate to standardised penalty charges, such as parking fines. Civil parking penalties often begin between £60 and £130 but, if unpaid, escalate through fees and interest and may ultimately become CCJs.
The real-world impact
Take one example cited by ParkingChargeNotice.co.uk: a motorist originally fined £135 ended up owing £258.36 once interest, listing fees, hearing fees and mileage were added. This is entirely consistent with what we see in the Register.
The consequences of such escalation can be severe. Once recorded, a CCJ remains on someone’s credit file for six years, potentially limiting access to credit, insurance, housing and even employment opportunities. A relatively small parking fine could therefore have long-lasting repercussions on financial wellbeing.
Data gaps and the future
At present, Registry Trust does not receive claimant details from the county courts, so we cannot quantify precisely how many judgments stem from parking fines. The Government has committed to legislating for claimant data to be included, and we anticipate this will be in place by the first half of 2026. In time, this will allow us to provide much more accurate insights.
In the meantime, the available evidence points clearly to parking fines making up a significant and growing share of judgments on the Register.
Satisfactions
Registry Trust would like to see the burden of proof for the repayment of outstanding judgments (including those related to parking fines) shifted from the individual defendant to the companies making the claim. That would be faster and more efficient, potentially enabling people to improve their credit scores at a faster rate.
Our conclusion
We welcome the opportunity to contribute to this consultation. Our data shows that the consequences of unpaid parking fines could extend far beyond the original penalty with a risk of embedding disproportionate, longer-term harm for some consumers.
As the Register’s operator, Registry Trust stands ready to provide further evidence and work with Government, regulators and industry to ensure the system is fair, transparent and works in the public interest.